Spindle for twisting, spinning, and winding machines or the like



Nov.. I7, 1936. 'Y C, H COLvlN 2,061,187

SPINDLE FOR TWISTING, SPINNING, AND WINDING MACHINES OR THE LIKE FiledApril 12, 1935 Patented Nov. 17, 1936 OFFICE.

SPINDLE ron TWIS'rING, SPINNING, AND ING momias on 'rm Application April12, 1935, Serial No. 16,030

9 Claims.

This invention relates to throwing spindles for twisting, spinning andwinding machines and has for its main and primary object to provide aspindle construction that will be capable of successfully operating athigh speeds, say about 20,000 revolutions or more per minute, with min-I imum power consumption, minimum speed of driving belt and motor andminimum amount of thread breakage. Such speeds, which are ap- 1'0proximately double the speeds at which spindles hitherto have beenoperated, are necessary in order to increase the rate of production fora given number of turns or twists of the threads per inch of length orto increase the number of turns or twists for a given rate ofproduction. AThe spindles hitherto used have been of three differenttypes, to wit, those with plain bearing, those with internalanti-friction bearing and 4those with external anti-friction. With plainbearing, the bearing is merely a sleeve within the whorl. The axialload, due to the weight of the blade and bobbin, is carried on a stepbearing, while the radial load of the driving belt is imposed on saidsleeve bearing. 'I'he same is true as to spindles with internalanti-friction bearings except that the radial load is imposed on a ballbearing within the whorl replacing the sleeve of the plain bearing. Withspindles with external anti-friction bearing there is a ball bearingabove the whorl and a ball or plain bearing below the whorl.

Of these three, the iirst two of the above mentioned three types havebeen found entirely unsatisfactory for high speed operation. First,because the whorl would have to be of relatively large diameter toprovide space within itself for bearings, which is objectionable becausethe large diameter whorl necessitates an unduly large high speed of beltand motor if high speed for the spindle is to be attained. Secondlylbecause of' the lack of adequate means for damping vibrations. On theother hand, spindles of the third type have been found unsuccessful forthe following reasons: First, because of the inadequate constructionthereof, since the bearing below the whorl is ill adapted to carry theradial load imposed thereon. But, secondly and principally, because ofthe utter lack of eiective lubricating means and hence, of the greatdiiiiculty and, in fact, impossibility, of adequately lubricating saidbearings, particularly the bearing above the whorl.

My invention deals with spindles of the third type and has for itsprimary object to obviate the drawbacks of this type of spindles, byproviding a construction which will render the spindle eilicient for thehigh speeds desired.

A further object of my invention is to provide a spindle constructionwhich will be durable, comparatively simple to manufacture, and in 5which the parts can be easily and quickly assembled and replacedwhenever desired.

And a still further lobject is to provide a spindle with self-acting orautomatic lubrication means so that attendance to lubrication will be 10greatly minimized and economy in the consumption of lubricant attained.

vWith these and other objects in view, my invention consists in thenovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, to be herel5inafter more fully described and dened in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing which forms part of this speciiication, andin which similar reference characters denote corresponding parts, 20

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the spindle with the support thereofshown in longitudinal section;

Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1; 25

Fig. 4 isv a cross section on line 4 0 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a cross section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, all said sections beingseen in the direction of the arrows.

I0 denotes the spindle proper or so-called blade 30 whose upper part I0'is generally tapered and adapted to receive a standard throwing bobbin(not shown). denotes the frame or support for said blade. This support'includes two vertically superposed parallel cup shaped sockets 35 I2,I3 projecting laterally from a vertical arm I4. 'Ihe lower cup shapedsocket is formed with a downwardly projecting cylindrical hollow ertubular extension or foot I5, which is adapted to be retained in theswing arm s of well known 40 construction of a standard throwing frame(not shown). The part |02 of the blade immediately below the'hpbbincarryingtaper I0' is cylindrical and adapted to be rotatively supportedin vertical position in the cup shaped sockets I2, I3 of said 45support. The' lower end I03 of said blade is tapered and adapted toextend centrally into the tubular or cylindrical foot I5 for the purposehereinafter to be speciied. I

Press iitted or otherwise permanently iixed on 50 the cylindrical partI02 of the blade extending intermediate the cups I2, I3 is a sleeve I6of re1- atively small diameter adapted to serve as the whorl, and whosecircumference may be covered with a layer I62 of high friction materialsuch 55 as rubber to enhance effective driving contact of the belt b(Fig. 3).

Mounted in the sockets I2 and I3 to rotatively bear the upper and lowerends of the cylindrical part E02 of the blade, are anti-friction meansof any suitable construction, preferably ball bearings, I'I, I8,respectively, each having an inner race Il', I8', an outer race |12,|82, and balls |13, |83 therebetween. The outer race |12 of the upperball bearing may be tightly tted or suitably secured within acylindrical sleeve I9 of yielding or resilient material which may beprovided on its upper face with a plurality of radiallyl projecting lipsI9 adapted to overlap the upper face of the outer race and spaced apartto form oil passages |92. The yielding or resilient sleeve I9 is tightlyfitted in a metal cap 20 whose outer circumference at its upper end isformed with screw thread 20' to mesh with the internally threaded end I2of the upper cup shaped socket I2. This cap 20 is formed centrally witha circular opening 202 whose diameter is relatively large to form a wideair passage leaving, however, a sufficiently wide annular flange aroundthe upper face of the resilient member I9. Tightly tted between theupper face of the yielding sleeve I9 and the inner face of said ange isa comparatively thin flexible washer 2| of porous material, which whilepermitting the passage of air, will trap the lubricant. This washer isprovided centrally with a circular opening 21| of such a diameter thatits edge will hug the spindle suiflciently to prevent the passage of oilbetween itself and the spindle. The metal cap -20 may be locked inadjusted position within the upper cup socket I2 by means of a set screw(not shown) working in a threaded bore Id' provided in the arm I of theframe.

Immediately below the upper ball bearing I provide a lubricating devicetherefor. The same comprises an oil reservoir 22 formed by a hollow inthe arm I4 and extending longitudinally therethrough. This reservoir isclosed at its lower end and open at its upper end terminating in the cupI2. The bottom of said cup I2 is provided concentrically with a circularopening |22 having an inwardly extending sleeve-like projection v I23 onthe upper edge of which is removably resta relatively short downwardlyprojecting hollow extension 233 adapted to snugly iit into the upperopen end of the oil reservoir 22 and through which the wick or oilfeeder 24 will project into and down the reservoir to dip in the oil.

The upper part I6 of the whorl I6 is extended to project into the cupsocket I2 and is cone shaped, tapering downwardly, the wider end of saidtaper I6 forming a shoulder on which bears the inner race II of the ballbearing I1. The lid 23 is formed centrally with a circular opening 23'slightly larger in diameter than that of the taper I6' at "theparticular point so as to form an air passage. Tightly fitted within the-sleeve I23 are a washer 25 of oil absorbing material and a yrelativelythin disc 26 of metal or the like, the same being retained in positionby a shoulder at the bottom edge of sleeve |23. Both said washers areformedv with central circular openings 25', 26' respectively, slightlylarger in diameter than the taper I6' at the particular points to formair passages.

The outer race I82 of the lower ball bearing is also suitably secured ina yielding or resilient aoeriev sleeve 2l of rubber or the like adaptedto tightly fit in the lower cup shaped socket I3 and is advantageouslyformed at its lower end with an annular ange 2l overlapping the lowerface of the outer race I8.

The upper face of said outer race is formed with an annular upstandingflange on which bears a suitable oil retaining lid or seal 28. 29 is adust protector in form of a metal washer or the like bearing on theslightly upwardly extended inner race I8 and adapted to close the mouthof the cup I3.

Leading into the reservoir 22 and into the cup I3 are oil ducts 30provided in the arm I9 and which are closed in well known manner byspring plungers 3|.

The hollow I5 of the'foot I5 of the support I l whereby the oil creepingup said tapered tail will I be dispersed entering the bearing in form ofa mist.

It will be noted that the support II is adapted to be yieldingly andremovably engaged by the wing arm s of the twisting frame. To this endthe lower cup socket I3 and resilient sleeve 21 are recessed as shown(Figs. 1 and 5) for the engagement of a tongue s provided on the swingarm s. This latter is held in contact 'with a washer bearing on thelower face of socket I3 by a pressure spring s2 mounted between said armand a nut 32 threaded on the lower end of the foot I5.

It is essential that with my spindle a step or foot support for theblade is entirely eliminated. Such supports were found to beobjectionable because instead of centering the spindle and preventingaxial vibrations, they frequently throw the spindle out of center andgive rise to axial vibrations. This is due to the fact that to minimizefriction the lower'end of the spindle is generally tapered to a pointand borne in a correspondingly shaped conical socket. By reason ofcombined radial and axial forces when the spindle revolves with highspeed the pointed end thereof tends, in rising within its socket and oninclining, to ride up the conical wall of said socket, in consequence ofwhich the extent of axial displacement and vibrations resultingtherefrom are increased.

With my spindle the blade is eifectively supported intermediary itsends, the axial load being carried by the inner race I8' of the lowerbearing and the blade held against Vertical displacement by the lips orflanges I9', 21' of the upper and lower ball bearings, which, however,due to their resiliency, permit the slight axial vibrations occasionedduring high speed.

In operation, the spindle is adapted to be driven with speeds of about20,000 'or more revolutions per minute. The radial and axialoscillations of the spindle, due to centrifugal forces and unevendistribution of the revolving masses. such as spool or bobbin, and tothe continuous change of the center of gravity as well as the lateralstress exerted on the whorl by the belt, are counteracted by theyielding sleeves I9 and 21 and the lips I9 and flange 21 thereof.

The most salient feature of my invention resides in the construction ofmy device affording effective lubrication of both upper and lowerbearings. With the lower bearing I8 the oil contained in the reservoiri', owing to the tapered tail end its of the blade, the oil, bycentrifugal force, as is well known, is caused to creep up said taperedtail of the blade and collect in the cup i3 wherein it will continuouslyand effectively lubricate the bearing.

With the upper bearing, the oil feeder or wick 2d will draw the oil fromthe reservoir and' deposit it onto the taper I6 of the whorl, on whichit will creep up, by centrifugal force as above stated. However, thetendency of the oil to creep up-from the smaller to the larger end ofthe taper against the action of gravity is weak and is liable to becompletely destroyed by an air current created around the taper movingin opposite direction. Such possibility is'avoided with my invention.The centrifugal action of the rotating parts, even of such smalldiameter as that of the whorl, at high speed, builds up in thesurrounding atmosphere, air pressure. This air pressure, owing to thenarrow passages 25', 26 at the bottom of the taper and the relativelylarge passage 202 of the cup, sets up an air circulation in the upwarddirection through the cup i2. The air current enters the cup through thenarrow air passages 25', 2t carrying with it the oil deposited on thetaper and leaves the same through the porous washer 2i extending overthe relatively larger diameter passage 262. This porous washer which, asstated, permits the passage of air but traps the oil which drops backinto the cup, wherein it accumulates in the annular space formed betweenthe inner wall of the cup i2 and the sleeve l23 and drops back into thereservoir through a passage 234 provided in the mouth piece 232..

Since the construction of my device may be modified in various Wayswithout departing from the spirit ofVV my invention, I do not wish torestrict myself to the details shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. In a spindle of the character described, a support rotativelysupporting said spindle and formed with upper and lower sockets,anti-friction bearings in said sockets, a lubricant reservoir for saidupper bearing and .means for feeding the lubricant from said reservoirto said bearing, said means including a downwardly tapered member onsaid spindle projecting into the socket of the upper bearing, a wickextending into said reservoir and in contact with said tapered memberand means for circulating an air current through said socket to aid thefeeding of the lubricant along said tapered member to said bearing.

2. In a spindle according to claim l, in which said air circulatingmeans include narrow air passages at the bottom and wider air passagesat the top of said socket and lubricant retaining means in said socket.

3. In a spindle according to claim 1, in which said spindle has flxedlymounted thereon a whorl of relatively s mall diameter, the upper end ofwhich is conical and adapted to project into said upper socket and totaper downwardly, said tapered portion forming a part of the lubricantfeeding means for said upper bearing.

4. In a spindle according to claim 1, in which means are provided foryieldingly supporting said anti-friction bearing in the upper socketincluding a rigid cap adjustably mounted in the mouth portion of saidsocket and a resilient sleeve xed in said cap and embracing saidantifriction bearing, both circumferentially and around the upper outermargin thereof.

5. In a spindle according to claim 1, in which the means for yieldinglysupporting the antifriction bearing in the lower socket includes aresilient sleeve adapted to tightly fit in said socket and embrace saidanti-friction roller, both circumferentially and around the-lower outermargin thereof.

6. In a spindle according to claim 1, in which said spindle at its lowerend is tapered and said support is provided with a hollow footprojecting centrally from the lower socket in longitudinal direction ofsaid arm forming a lubricant reservoir for the lower bearing into whichreservoir said tapered end freely projects.

7. In a spindle according to claim 1, lubricating means for the upperanti-friction bearing which includes a cap threadedly mounted in themouth of said socket and formed with a relatively large central openingand a washer 0f porous material over said opening adapted to trap thelubricant but permit the passage of air through said opening.

8. In a spindle according to claim l, in which the means for feeding alubricant to the upper bearing includes a lubricant absorbing meansbelow said bearing and lubricant retaining means above said bearing.

9. In a spindle of the character described a support rotativelysupporting said spindle and formed with a socket, an anti-frictionbearing in said socket, a lubricating means for said bearing, includinga lubricant reservoir and a lubricant feeder, a downwardly taperedmember on said spindle projecting into said socket and contacting withsaid feeder, and means for circulating an, air current through saidsocket to aid the feeding of the lubricant along said tapered memberinto said bearing.

f. CHARLES H. COLVIN.

